Square paving to be done by mid-October

Oct. 15 is a date marked in red for business owners on the south side of the square in Newport.

That is the date on which Dave Maneval
from G&R Charles, the contractor for the Market Street project,
expects to finish with that end of the square.

Lighting still will need to be installed.
Trees will be planted, and other miscellaneous finishing touches will
need to be completed, but the main paving work will be finished, he
said.

Maneval gave the update in an informal meeting with a small group of business owners at Newport’s borough office on Sept. 12.

He admitted he is about two weeks behind
the schedule he had anticipated last December, chalking it up to a
search for a sewer leak and waiting for materials, such as the tree
grates that were stock items when the project was bid last year but have
since become made to order items with no increase in cost.

Brick pavers were due to arrive last week
and installation was to begin right away. The special engraved bricks
ordered by residents through Newport Revitalization will be added at a
later date by pulling out the plain paver and replacing it with the
engraved version.

While business owners know there will be
long-term benefits from the project, they note that it has been a rough
haul. “This has been way more detrimental than any of us anticipated,”
said Carpetbaggers’ owner Lori McNaughton.